Today,Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of Gavin Grimm. Grimm is a transgender 17-year-old from Virginia who is challenging the Gloucester County School Board’s discriminatory policy that prohibits transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. His lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia, argues the bathroom policy violates Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination by schools.

The Amicus Brief, filed in conjunction with the law firm ClearyGottliebSteen & HamiltonLLP, includes powerful testimonies from a diverse group of transgender Americans who are thriving in their careers across a broad spectrum of fields including transportation, education, mechanics, medicine, law, science, and the arts. The individuals represent a range of ages and come from diverse geographic, political, socioeconomic, and racial/ethnic backgrounds. Many signatories are advocates in their own right, including lead signatory Jennifer Michelle Chavez and signatories Britney Austin and Brandi Branson–all of whom brought pathbreaking federal sex discrimination cases. Several celebrities, including Laverne Cox, Caitlyn Jenner, and the Wachowski Sisters, join dozens of other transgender Americans from all walks of life. They “are united in their strongly held belief that resolutions like the one adopted by the Gloucester County School Board are discriminatory and inhibit transgender individuals from realizing their full potential in their personal and professional lives.”